


Pebbles and Crumbs

by GaeilgeRua



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Character Death, Fairy Tale Retellings, Gen, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 11:10:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20487938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaeilgeRua/pseuds/GaeilgeRua
Summary: A retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Draco and Hermione have to find ways to survive the forest and their stepmother's treachery.





	Pebbles and Crumbs

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for The MourningMadam's Once Upon A Time Fest. The fairy tale I was given was Hansel and Grethel (https://fairytalez.com/hansel-and-grethel/).
> 
> Many thanks to Squarepeg72 and thescarletphoenixx for their help in not only making sure this wasn't horrible, but also help with the title and summary when my brain was friend after finishing the last of this after working three days at our local Irish fest outside. If there are any errors after they looked it over and I sent it through Grammarly, they are my own.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything recognisable from the HP world. I also do not own anything recognisable from the Grimm brothers fairy tale. You will see many lines that are exact from the linked fairy tale and some will be similar with slight changes.

Lucius sat in his study as he poured over the family finances. He usually had a perfect grasp of their budget, but something was wrong, and he couldn't understand what happened.

The patriarch of the Malfoy family continued to review the parchments scattered across his desk trying to determine where everything fell apart.

That's how his wife found him hours later. Only now, his notably perfect looks were not so perfect. He had frown lines marring his forehead, black ink stained the fingertips of his left hand as he tried to crunch numbers to figure out where everything went wrong, and his platinum blond hair was in disarray from where he ran his right hand through the long locks.

"Lucius?"

He looked up, a wan smile that didn't reach his eyes, making his already haggard appearance worse. "Good evening, Bella. How may I help you?"

"I hadn't heard from you as you've been locked away here all evening, and now that I've put the children to bed, I wanted to check in on you."

Lucius looked back down, missing the smirk that twisted his wife's features.

Schooling her features as she walked around Lucius' desk, Bellatrix asked, "Everything okay, dear?"

"I think we're going to have to sell our home." He sighed as he gestured to the parchments in front of him. "If we don't, I don't know how we're going to survive this, Bella."

Pulling his chair back, Bellatrix slipped into his lap. Running her fingers through his hair to straighten it, she questioned, "Why would we have to sell our home?"

Lucius looked at her in shock. "We have no money, Bella! What is to become of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything even for ourselves?"

She waited for Lucius' grey eyes to return to the parchments before she rolled her dark brown, almost black eyes. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she offered, "I'll tell you what, dear. Tomorrow morning as we head to work, we will take the children with us. But we will take a detour through the forest to where it is the thickest. Once there, we will light a fire for them, give them a single slice of bread each, and then we will go into work. Alone in that part of the forest, they will not be able to find their way home, and we shall be rid of them."

"No, Bella!" Lucius exclaimed as stood up from his chair, knocking Bellatrix to the floor. "How could you suggest such a thing? Do you think I could bear to leave my children alone in the forest? Especially that part of the forest? The wild–" he stumbled over his words as the implication of them set in. Lucius started pacing. "The wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces. And that is not taking into consideration the rumours of a witch living there."

"Oh, you fool!" Bellatrix cackled as she stood up. "There is no which in the forest! It is just hearsay. If we do not do this, then all four of us will die of hunger. Would you like to plane the planks of our coffins or should I?"

She didn't give him a moment to ponder what she said, for once his back was turned in his pacing, she pulled out a thin piece of wood and whispered something under her breath.

Lucius' footsteps faltered a second time. "I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same," he relented.

Bellatrix smirked and slid her wand back into its hiding spot before he turned to face her with a sad smile.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two adults, young Draco and Hermione were hiding in the secret room just off their father's study. Neither had been able to sleep as their empty stomachs kept them awake and since their stepmother didn't know about this room, they hid here to stay out of her sight.

Draco carefully closed the door leading to their father's study as Hermione made her way over to the door that would lead them back towards their shared bedroom.

"We're finished," Hermione lamented, her small fingers twisting the hem of her nightdress.

"Calm down, Hermione," Draco whispered. "This will not be the end of us." He gestured to the two small chairs in the room. "Let us take a few breaths and think about what we could do to help ourselves tomorrow."

The children quietly discussed what options they had, waiting for their father and stepmother to fall asleep. Once they were gone, Draco and Hermione stepped into their father's study. It was as Hermione glanced out the window that she saw the answer.

"Draco! Look!"

He hurried over, and his eyes alighted on the gravel of their drive. In the moonlight, the small pieces of stone shone like silver Sickles. Draco kissed her cheek. "You're a brilliant sister!"

"I won't be able to carry any," Hermione reminded him, "not since my coat has no pockets."

"That is okay," Draco replied. "I will grab my coat and fill the pockets full. Now, you go to sleep, and I shall follow in a few moments."

Hermione gave a short nod before she watched her brother dart out of the room. Silently, she closed the door behind him before she made her way through the secret room and corridor to her and Draco's bedroom. As she sat on her bed, she pulled an old photograph from her bedside table.

Looking down at the grainy image, she sighed. "Oh, mum, how I miss you so." She hugged her mother's photograph for a few moments before gently placing it back in its hiding spot. Sliding under her bedclothes, Hermione waited for Draco to return.

Once he joined her in their room, Draco carefully hung up his jacket before placing a kiss on Hermione's cheek and slipping into his own bed. "Goodnight, Hermione," he whispered.

"Goodnight, Draco," Hermione replied into the darkness.

* * *

The sun was just starting to rise when the door to their bedroom was thrown open.

"Up, you sluggards!" Bellatrix demanded as she threw open the threadbare curtains. "Meet your father and I at the front door. We are going into the forest to fetch wood to bring home before we go to work."

Draco and Hermione silently followed their stepmother's directions and soon found themselves joining the adults.

"Here," Bellatrix said, shoving a piece of bread at each of them. "There is something for your dinner, but do not eat it up before then, for you will get nothing else."

Hermione slid the piece Bellatrix gave her into her apron. Once they were outside starting towards the path that led to the woods, Draco gave her his slice. She slipped his into her pocket alongside her own.

A few moments later, Draco stopped walking and turned to look back over his shoulder before continuing to follow. He did this a handful of times before either adult said anything.

"Draco, what are you doing? You're falling behind."

As her brother replied, Hermione was able to get her first good look at their father that morning. She frowned, he looked as if he hadn't slept at all.

"But, father," Draco replied, "I am looking at my little white Crup, which is sitting up on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. She'd definitely had enough of these two brats. "Fool, that is not your Crup, that is the morning sun which is shining on the chimneys."

However, Draco had not been looking back at his Crup. Instead, he had been continuously throwing one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocket along the road.

It was sometime later that they finally reached the middle of the forest, Draco continuing to leave little pebbles behind them.

Lucius turned to his children, asking them to gather brushwood so he could light it for them.

Draco and Hermione did as their father asked, and soon, a fire was burning brightly from the small hill of branches they collected.

"Now, my children," their father told them, " lay yourselves down by the fire to rest and stay warm. Bellatrix and I will go into the forest and cut some wood. When we have done, we will come back and fetch you away."

Not saying anything, Draco and Hermione sadly watched their father and stepmother walk away.

Even though they both knew their father and stepmother would not return based on how she was able to trick their father the night before, Hermione held out her hand and uttered, "Come, Draco. Let us sit by the fire and wait."

Once settled, the two children waited, knowing they were not likely to hear from either adult any time soon.

Every once in awhile, Draco and Hermione could hear the stroke of a wood-axe and assumed their father had played their stepmother. Never once realising that it was Bellatrix who fooled them. She had fastened a big branch to an old, withered tree and charmed the log to strike the trunk randomly, causing the sound.

By the time the sun was high over their heads, Hermione had pulled out one slice of bread and split it between the two of them.

"So we have some for later," she rationalised.

After their meagre lunch, both children lay down next to each other, letting the sounds of the forest lull them into sleep.

* * *

Hours later, as the sun had just finished setting, Draco woke to his sister shaking him. Worry etching her face. "Draco! We've slept too long. How are we to get out of the forest now that the sun is gone?"

Draco grinned at Hermione. "Remember those pebbles?" At her nod, he added, "Once the moon is overhead; then we will follow them back out."

Hermione blushed as she realised she'd already forgotten about her own idea.

Sure enough, once the nearly full moon was high enough, the stones reflected the pale light. Draco grabbed Hermione's hand in his, leading her back home.

The two young children followed the path for hours until they finally saw their father's home in the distance. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when they reached the front door and knocked.

It was Bellatrix who answered their call. Opening the door, she glared darkly at both of them as she said, "You naughty children, why have you slept so long in the forest? We thought you were never coming back at all!" The sweetness in her voice was in complete contrast of the look she gave them, and for the benefit of their father.

No matter what their stepmother said, Lucius was so thankful to see his children again and hugged them fiercely.

* * *

It was only a few weeks later when Draco and Hermione overheard their father and stepmother talking again.

"Everything is eaten again," Bellatrix lamented, "we have one-half loaf left, and after that, there is nothing." She turned and gave Lucius a stern look." The children must go, but this time, we will take them farther into the wood, so that they will not find their way out again; there are no other means of saving ourselves!"

"Why should we be rid of my children, when it's better to share the last mouthful with them?"

Bellatrix waved him off, ranting and raving, saying that saving themselves would be better in the long run.

"Bellatrix," Lucius sighed as he buried his head in his hands.

The moment Lucius had moved his gaze from her, Bellatrix whipped out her wand and cursed Lucius.

Draco and Hermione watched silently as her father agreed a second time.

"Now what?" Hermione snapped once Bellatrix and Lucius disappeared to head to bed.

"Have no fear, my dear sister, for I already have a plan. Sleep well, and I will see you in the morning."

* * *

The next morning, Draco and Hermione were woken by their stepmother nearly the same way they had been when they were first left in the woods.

"Up you get!" Bellatrix demanded as she barged through their door, causing the door handle to leave a dent in the wall. "Time to get a move on as we don't have time for dawdling. These are for you."

Before she left, she shoved two pieces of bread towards the children.

Draco and Hermione shared a worried look when they both realised that they were given even smaller portions than they had the last time.

"It will be okay," Draco muttered as he slipped his in his pocket and led Hermione from their bedroom.

Same as their previous journey, Draco would randomly stop and turn back to look at their house.

"Draco?" Lucius questioned. "Why do you stop and look around? We must keep going."

"I hear my Golden Snidget calling to me. She wants to say goodbye," Draco replied.

"Simpleton!" Bellatrix chided. "That is not your Golden Snidget! It is the morning sun reflecting off of the chimney! Now hurry up!" She paused and glared a Lucius. "All of you."

Draco shared a sad look with Hermione as they continued, all the while, he dropped crumbled pieces of the bread that was given to him earlier. He saw what she had pointed out, something had to be wrong with their father, but ever since they returned home, their stepmother was never away from Lucius for very long.

The quartet continued walking through the forest, well past where the two children had been left the last time. The further they went, the darker it became and the closer together the trees were.

Hermione unconsciously stepped closer to Draco and grasped his hand. Draco squeezed her fingers in silent response.

Suddenly Bellatrix stopped them in a small clearing. She gestured to a fallen log. "Just sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a little; we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening when we are done, we will come and fetch you away."

They quietly sat down and watched as their father built a fire for them and then disappeared into the surrounding darkness with the stepmother. A slight pause in his footsteps as neared the edge of the clearing and a glance over his shoulder told them everything they needed to know; their stepmother was doing something to their father.

"What do we do?" Draco questioned once he knew both adults were well out of earshot.

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied as she stared thoughtfully into the distance, "but between the two of us, we can figure this out."

They quietly discussed what they knew and anything they could do, and when they could no longer ignore the pains in their bellies, Hermione pulled out her small piece of bread. Without a thought, she tore it in half and shared with her brother.

As the day wore on, the two children fell asleep, holding each other to provide some extra warmth that the dwindling fire could no longer produce.

Draco woke with a start as the embers in the fire crackled, sending sparks into the sky.

"Wake up, sister," he said as he shook Hermione's shoulder. When he saw she was awake, he added, "I think it is dark enough that we can now follow the trail of breadcrumbs I left as we travelled here."

They made their way over to the direction they had come from earlier but quickly realised that the breadcrumbs Draco had dropped were nowhere to be seen. He frowned.

"Don't worry, Draco," Hermione said, grabbing his hand and wisely ignoring the tears glistening in the dying firelight, "we will find our way. Come on."

"Okay," Draco replied.

And so they walked all through the night and into the next day and the following night. They only stopped to snack on berries they found growing from the ground, and even then, they only found a few. Not nearly enough to sustain both of them.

As the sun set, they decided to lay down as their legs could no longer carry them that day.

This is how they continued for the next three days. There were times where they found themselves moving closer to the edge of the woods, but then one wrong turn and they'd find themselves walking further into the forest. That was where they found themselves mid-morning of the third day — moving deeper into the woods at every turn they made.

Suddenly they came upon a beautiful white bird sitting on a bough. It sang beautifully for a few moments before it spread its wings and took off. Draco and Hermione eagerly following.

Once they caught up to it, sitting on the roof of a cottage, the two starving children found themselves staring at a sight they could not believe.

Not only were they standing in front of a house, but it was built of bread and covered with cakes, and the windows were made of clear sugar.

"We will set to work on that," said Draco as he licked his lips, "and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and Hermione, I bet you will enjoy the window as it will taste sweet."

"Oh, Draco," Hermione replied, "should we? This looks like someone's home."

Draco reached up and broke off a piece of the roof. "They will not miss a little bit; we just need enough to sustain us until we find our way home."

Nodding at his response, Hermione nibbled at the window panes.

A soft voice cried from inside the cottage:l, "Nibble, nibble, gnaw. Who is nibbling at my little house?"

Only pausing a moment, the children answered, "The wind, the wind. The heaven-born wind, " and went on eating without disturbing themselves.

Draco tore off a bigger chunk of the roof as Hermione pushed out a windowpane. They sat down to enjoy their treats when the front door opened. An old witch stepped out, supporting herself on crutches. Both children were so frightened that they dropped what they'd been eating.

Looking off into the distance, the old witch gestured to them. "Oh, you dear children, who has brought you here? Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall come to you."

Sharing a look, Draco and Hermione stood up and followed her into her home. When the door closed behind them, they found themselves standing in front of a table laden with milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. And afterwards, they found two little beds covered with clean white line. As they were both so exhausted, neither child questioned the generosity of the old witch, and promptly fell into bed.

* * *

When Draco and Hermione first met her, the old woman was only pretending to be nice, but in reality, she was very wicked and liked to entice little children with her cottage made of bread. The two siblings learned that the hard way the next morning when she yanked Draco from his bed and threw him into a cage.

"No!" Hermione screamed as she tried to pull Draco away from the witch. "Let him go!"

"Run, Hermione!" Draco yelled back. "Go get help!"

Hermione looked torn as Draco's hand slipped from hers. "But—"

"You run off, dearie, and your brother will be dead before you return," the witch warned her. She threw Draco into the cage and locked the door behind him before pinning Hermione with a dark look. "Do you wish to test me, dearie?"

Looking between Draco and the old witch, Hermione didn't know how serious the woman was, but she wasn't about to take any chances, even when her brother mouthed to her to go and save herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she bowed her head.

"Smart girl," she cackled. She pointed to a pail sitting beside her front door. "Now fetch that bucket for water, and cook something good for your brother as I need him to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him."

Hermione glared at the old witch as she went over to a comfortable looking chair and sat down.

"Don't test me, dearie," she added as an afterthought.

The tears shining in Hermione's eyes spilt down over her cheeks as she realised any arguing would be in vain. Going over to the front door, she picked up the bucket and did as the wicked old woman order her. Upon her return, she cooked the best food for her brother Draco, while Hermione herself was forced to eat nothing but crab shells and the random berry.

The next morning, the witch went up to the cage that Draco was in and told him to stick out his finger, "So that I may soon see that you're fat."

Hermione watched as Draco stuck out a small bone, she left in the cage with him to trick the old witch. Because this particular type of witch had such poor sight, she never suspected his ruse.

* * *

This is how the next month passed, each morning the old witch demanding to feel Draco's finger for his fatness, Draco sticking out the same bone as that second morning, and Hermione forced to make the best foods for her brother. Draco and Hermione knew one day that their ruse would be up.

It happened four weeks later when she became impatient with Draco's progress and told Hermione to fetch some water, adding, "Let Draco be fat or lean, tomorrow I will kill him, and cook him."

Hermione's cheeks burned with anger and frustration. "Dear Merlin, do help us," she cried. "If the wild beasts in the forest had but devoured us, we should, at any rate, have died together."

"Keep your noise to yourself," the old woman said, "all your whining won’t help you at all."

* * *

Early the next morning, Hermione was woken early by the old witch and made to go out and hang up the cauldron before filling it with water she went to the nearby stream to get. She then lit the fire.

"We will bake first," said the witch. "The oven is already heating, and I have kneaded the dough."

She pushed poor Hermione towards the oven, from which flames of fire were already darting. "Crawl in," the old witch whispered, "and see if it is properly heated so that we can shut the bread in."

Once Hermione was inside, the old witch indented to shut her in the oven and let her bake in it, and then she would eat Hermione, too. But Hermione saw through her words, and said, "I do not know how I am to do it; how do you get in?"

"Silly goose," the old witch chided. "The door is big enough; just look, I can get in myself!" She stepped up to the oven, opened the door, and stuck her head in.

Hermione rushed up behind her and pushed her in. Not giving the old woman a chance to react, she slammed the oven door closed and fastened the bolt. The witch's howls of pain nearly drowned out Hermione's excitement as she ran over to her brother.

"Draco, we are saved! The old woman is dead!"

Before she reached the cage, the lock released, freeing Draco. He wrapped his sister in his arms as they wept tears of joy.

Releasing each other as the witch's screams dissipated, they turned and watched as the last of the enchantments on the witch's cottage fell away to reveal a shack that looked as if it was only one strong gust of wind from blowing away.

"Now that her enchantments are gone, let's see what's left," Hermione suggested.

The two children entered and soon discovered there was some food left, and they even found a few small chests full of pearls and jewels in the corners.

"These are far better than pebbles!" Draco exclaimed as his eyes roved over the contents of the chests. He scooped up handfuls of the pearls and jewels and stuffed them into his pockets.

"I, too, will take something home with me," Hermione said as she followed his lead and placed some in her pockets. She also pocketed some of the leftover food they found.

Draco clasped Hermione's hand in his. "Now that our pockets are full, let's leave this place so that we may get out of the witch’s forest."

The two set off into the woods, and after some time, they came across a large body of water with no way to cross in sight. Draco spotted a white duck swimming a short distance away and pointed it out to Hermione.

"Let's see if she's able to help," Hermione whispered.

At Draco's nod, she called out, 

"Little duck, little duck, dost thou see,  
Hansel and Grethel are waiting for thee?  
There’s never a plank, or bridge in sight,  
Take us across on your back so white."

The duck swam over and was kind enough to ferry each of them to the other side of the river one after the other.

Once they were both across, they stopped for a few moments to eat some of the food Hermione brought for them. After their bellies were full, they made their way through the forest.

They walked for quite some time, but the further along they went, the more familiar the surrounding trees became. At length, the trees thinned and opened into a very familiar area. Their town was ahead of them, and their father's house was just beyond that.

The two tired children found new hope at the sight of their home in the distance and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. They burst through the front door and into their father's study and straight into his arms.

In the excitement of their return, Draco and Hermione learned of the death of their stepmother early that morning.

"You're not going to marry again, are you father?" Hermione questioned with a pout.

"Of course not, my dear," Lucius replied with tears in his eyes. He ran his hands over their heads again as if making sure they were really in front of him. "You both are more than enough for me. Now, where have you been?"

Both children told Lucius what they had been through, and it was as they were telling him about the death of the old witch, that they figured out that somehow the two women were connected.

"Look at what we found!" Hermione exclaimed as she and Draco emptied their pockets of the pearls and jewels they took from the witch's house.

Smiling, Lucius revealed that even if they had not brought the treasure with them that they were once again well off. He explained to his children what had happened to their funds over the last few years. The little family hugged once more and rejoiced at being reunited again.

My tale is now done.


End file.
